Device for detecting combustible gas



y 1960 v. BERARDI ETAL 2,943,919

DEVICE FOR DETECTING COMBUSTIBLE GAS Filed Jan. 16, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVi NToR. Q/)2,4 @4 44 BY W 7441;

July 5, 1960 v. BERARDI ET AL DEVICE FOR DETECTING COMBUSTIBLE GAS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1957 Fflfl/IIIIIIIIWIV INVENTORJ WlC-njo 3M BY 610ml Eniteti rates DEVICE FOR DETECTING COMBUSTIBLE GAS VincenzoBerardi, 46, Via, Piave, Terlizzi, Italy, and Gio Vanni Manzari, 2, Via Tufaro, Valenzano, Italy The,pr esent invention relates to a. safety device for detecting gas escapes, said devicebeing suitable to perceive the presence of gaseous 'fuel in closed places.

Several devices have been hitherto provided to detect escapes of unburnt gas from conduits or burners, said devices generally comprising mechanical means directly fitted on the burners or on the gas supplying conduits. With these devices, the mechanical parts of said devices, being directly in contact with the gas, may easily get obstructed, causing inconsistent operation.

: On the contrary, the present invention is baseclon the method of taking, at determinatedintervals (from a few seconds up to one hour or more, according to the need), samples of air fromthe place where the device is fitted, and of contacting said samples with an igniting device in such a way that, if a minimum proportion of unburnt gas is mixed with air, themixture is ignited and actuates various, alarm devices, such as optic (glow-lamps) and acoustic (bells) devices, closing in the meantime the gas supplying conduit (lighting gas or gas bottles).

The main object of the present invention is to perceive the presence of gas mixed with air, when the proportion of gas in the place is still not dangerous for humans.

Another object of the present invention is to adjust at will the interval between twooperations of taking samples of air.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for these purposes having low operating expenses, since the whole device takes an amount of electric power of a few watts, even if the operation occurs in and about continuous manner, or also less.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a diagram of the various parts. of the device and the corresponding electric network;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the timing device T of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the switching device I, taken on the line IIIIII of Figure 1;

Figure 4' is a detailed view of thelocking device B of Figure 1; and

I Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the same device B taken on a line at right angles with the plane of Figure 4'.

Referring now to Figure. 1, letter P is the device for taking samples. of air from the place to be watched. This device mainly consists of a tubular container 1 substantially shaped as two cone frusta connected to each other by their minor bases, so as'to form a shape somewhat like a Venturi tube. At the lower end of tube 1 there is fitted a fan 2, the vanes of which, being in the same plane of the lower aperture of tube 1, when rotating draw air or gas-air mixture in the said tube 1. A closure valve is fitted in the neck 3 of tube 1. This valve consists of a hollow solenoid 4 that, when energized, is moved atent gized.

downwardly for the magnetic pull on an inner pin 5 fixed to the neck 3 by metal bars 6, against the stress; of a spring 7. A second valve 8-is. fitted in an aperture. 9 provided in the upper side wall of tube 1. Valves is held open by a spring 10, but is closed by an elastic. arm 11, operativelyfconnected to the solenoid valve 4,, when 'said solenoid 4 moves downwardlyto close the lower aperture of tube'l. The upper aperture of tube. 1 is closed by a plunger cover 12 which'may be reciprocated in the cylindrical upper part of-tube 1, said plunger; 12 being air-tight'withfthe walls offtube' 1. Plunger 12 is represented in Figure I in its. lower position; Said plunger. supports one" or two knownfsparking 'devices or spark-plugs 1 3 which produce. sparks, at the. tip. at a movable rod 14 when the solenoid; of spark-plugs 13 isiener- Through the switching devicelwhich will .be hereinafter:

described, a low voltage current ag. 8 volts) is successively. supplied to the circuitofian 2, valve 4 and spark.- plugs 13. Fan 2 forcesair into tube 1,.that enteisthrough, valve 4- and goes through valve 9.. successively, the, current inthe circuit of valve. 4 closes valve 4. and-consequently valve 9. Soon after, thecurrent led. in the circuit of spark-plugs 13. produces. sparks in the. interior of tube. 1. If the air-within tube 1 does. not contain gas, nothing else will happen. 0n the contrary, if there is a gas-air mixture present in the atmosphere being tested, the: gas air-mixture is. ignited and while-expanding pushes plunger 12 upwardly, then comes out from the bore 15 provided. in the wall of tube 1, said bore 15 being exposed by plunger 12 during its upward movement. In order:- to v prevent flames from coming out from said-bore 15 and ignitingthe surrounding atmosphere, the bore-15is pro-- vided with a. labyrinth discharge pipe 15a through which. the combustion gases eventually pass. This movement of plunger 12 causes also the displacement of a rod 16 of a switch 17. Thus the rod 16 with its movement and with its tip 18 made of conducting material breaks the current passage in the circuits I and T which will. be hereinafter described, and closes another circuit between. terminals 19 and 20 of the feeding network, as to actuate. several alarm devices either acoustic (bells C) or optic v devices (glow-lamps L). Similarly there is actuated a; locking device B mounted on the gas supplying pipe or on the outlet of a gas bottle (before the reducer). Said locking device B will be hereinafter described.

When the alarm has been raised and the causes of the presence of gas have been identified and removed, the.- rod 16 and the plunger 12 are returned to their original position by lowering the rod 16, and also the plunger 12 by hand or other means.

Reverting now to the timing device T which, through; the switching device I, actuates the device P for taking air samples at determined intervals, it mainly consists,- of a set of. the so-called bimetallic elements (said elements being four in the embodiment shown in the draw ings) 21, 22, 23 and 24, respectively (see Figures 1, 2 and 3). These bimetallic elements are formed bytwo blades,

of two diflerentmetals connected to each other and. havev the Well knownproperty of bending ifsubjected to'heatv ing. In the embodiment shown in the drawingsthe. bi

metallic elements are heated by electric-resistances which;

of he bimetallic elements, on the wire employed for the,

resistance and on the electric current flowing therethrough. On the ends b of bimetallic elements 21, 22,

and 23, rest the ends 25, 26 and 27, respectively, ofi.

switching beams 28, 29 and 30, respectively, which, when rotating round pivots 31, 32. and 33, respectively 51,52, 53 and54 respectively.

53' are inserted into the low-voltage feeding circuits of 7 fan 72, 'valve 4 and spark-plugs 13, which are parts of the device P for taking'sa'mplesof air, hereinbefore'described.

' The 'cufirent of these c'ircuits comes from-the secondary ss cratransiromrerzthe rimary windingi56 Ofwhich is V connected on a side-to thet'eriminal 57- ofs witch 17 and I taketwo difierent' positions, in consequence of holding springs m (see Figure 2), fitted as to urge the'ends 25,

26 and 27 upwardly and downwardly according to the position of the said beams. Terminal 20 of the feeding network is'con'nected by lead34 with pivot 31o]? beanr 28;" Terminal 19 is connected,',through'the com mo'nf'contact of switch'17, tip 18 of rod 16and lead 35,

to a"glow-'l amp 36 that operates as a protectingl and stabilizing device" and isofadjustable ow r, as to co operate withthe 'controlof 'the duration of" the desired: intervals. Another leadf37. connects glow-lamp 36 with the'ends a of the bimetallic elements '21, 22, 23 and24;

j Thetiming device II operates'a'sfollows; at the, start;

1 ing position, the ends i 29," and130',,re'spectivel I ofthe fbimetallic elements "21; 52 2 and '23, respectively;

sand 27 of the beams 28, .are contacted with 'the ends b The circuit originally; closed fthroughj the bimetallic elements 21; in a consequence fjthe' current passage, said element 21 heatsfup and'itsend'b risesi'and causesithe beam 28 ,to swing around'pivot 31 as long as it springs in the "positionwhere 'thejend'25 is'raised and the other end 38 rests on contact 39 that is connected with pivot 32 of bea n 2 9. "At this moment the circuit passes through the; bimetallic felernent "22, thus the electric current heats the-same and causes its end"bjto"rise; saidend b urges upwardly the end 2601: beam 29'and causes said beam' 29. to spring on'the position where the end 26 is raised,

and the end 40' touches contact 41 connected to the pivot 33 j of' beam 30. Now,the current raises the end b of the'bimetallic element-'23, thus'the end. 27 of'beam 30; t the end 42 of which makes contact with terminal 43 connected through lead 44'with the end b of the bimetallic element 24. The electric, current heats said element 24 so that its end b rises andactuatesswitch I, as it will be hereinafter set forth. ,7 a

In Figure 2 there are shown the beams 28 and 29 with their ends and 26 respectively, in the raised position,

while'bea m rests with its end 27 on the end b of the to swing round a pivot 61. Thusthe end 62 of the lever 60 is raised and ur'ges'upwardly'the end 63 of the beam 28 that takes its starting position, i.e. the end 25 of beam 28 is again contacted with the end b of the element 21, which in the meantime cooled down and took the starting horizontal position. The beam 28, by means'of the projection 64 of its end 25, draws also the beam 29 that r in its turn, by means of the projection Y 65 of itslieild26,

draws the beam 30 invits startingposition. Thus the switchingdevice I closes by turns the circuits so'that the following steps cccur in' succession: operationkif the fan, with consequent movement of air from'theioutside to the interior 'of tube 1, closing'of valve 4 and; Valve 8, the

sample of'air'is' imprisoned inithetube 1; production of sparks'fi'om ,thegspark-plugs; 13, lAt pointpif there is no ignition of mixture-the contact 54-50 is closed;

solenoid 58 energizes blade 59 and causes lever 60 to.

rotate around pivot 61';'the end 62 of lever 60 rises and v causes :the'beam'28 and accordinglfbeams"29' aridf30 to i 20 again-With the sa e atir rfr a 'th fth k ate fii swing backft'o their p'ositioni I Thus the' flw current into lead 44 and 'in the winding 56 bf transformer '2' is interriipted, and the cycle" willfbe'g'in element 21."-

'In case of'ignition of mixture inrthechamberlforrned bytube 1 the plunger 12'and rod 16 of switch 17 'rise:

and the, tip 18'of rod- 16 breaksofithe flowfof current p into the lead 35"(viz. in the devices P, Tand jI) and closes 'the circuits of the alarm' device'sC' and L and offt-he locking deviceB. This latter devicfrepresented in two sections at right angles with each other in 4'and 5, respectively, consists of arnain cylindrical body 83' crossed by i a horizontal bore 84 that is inserted'by; means of two connections 85 and 66 in the gas supplying pipe, preferably in the main inlet thereof. The cylindrical body, 83 is also provided with a'central vertical bore, in whichslides a cylindrical plunger 67 that has' in its central portion a bore 68 which aligns, in normal operative condition, with the bore 84 so as to allow the passageof gas. On one side of plunger 67 there is provided a control groove 69 that has a cavity 70' at its lower end. In the groove 69 a pin 71 slides, said pin -71 being urged against the groove 69 by a spring 72 with the otherend to the bottom 7- of the apparatus.

When the current flows through the bimetallic element 24, the end 5 of the same rises and causes the plate 45 to rise; the edge-46 0f said plate 45, 'duringthe-rising movement, causes the;blades 47, 48, 49 and to touch,

in successionand at determined intervals, the bow-shaped contacts 51,52, 5 3-and 54, respectively; The interval (relatively short, viz; few seconds) between two actions of contacting is suitably controlled by varying the gap 1 betweentthe blades 47,48, 49 and 50 and the contacts onlthe'other side to the lead of the timing device T.

1 Then the .c'n'rrent ilows'jmtransfornier t only" when the: 'rod16 10f" switch 17 'is -in itsusual position, viz: whenplunger-12 of the device 'P is lowered and the eurrent flows also through the bimetallic element 24,"thatis tosay in the {lasts'tage of the interval between two successive operations of taking samples of :air ,(or air-gas mixture). "The contact54"islinsertedjin avcircuit of the device for bringing back to 'the original'position the. beams 28,29 and 3 0. 'lhis circuit comprises a solenoid 58 which,

when" energized, actuates a conductingblade 59 fixed at oneof theends of a insulating lever that is allowed The contacts 51, '52 and in a suitable seat, said spring 72 being held in position by a screw 73 screwed in the cylindrical body 83;. The upper part 74 of plunger 67 is made of magnetic material and forms the sliding core of an relect-romagnet 75. A vertical rod 76 made of insulating material is fittedin' a central position on the core 74 in'such a way that, when the core 74 moves upwardly, said rod 76 opens a switch 7 7 fixed t'oia cylindrical wall 78 screwed on the body 83. A circular cap 79 is in its turn screwed on' the cylindrical ,wall 78 and closes the upper 'part'of the device. On the bottom of the cylindrical b0dy 83 a cap 8 0is screwed forinspecting and cleaning purposes. The

operation of the locking valve B nowdescribedis "as follows: when thercurrent is energized inithe alarm V circuit34, .34' through switch 17 (see Figure l), the

magnet attracts 'and'rraises the core 74; the bore, 68'

moves upwardly and breaks'the flow of 'gas' through the.

its movement by the" pin 71 that entersth'e grooye 69- V and successively'the cavity 70- as to prevent the plunger 7 6]., from returning downwardly, The plungen 6 7,; lay

means of t-herod 76, at the upper end, of'its stroke opens it.34,;34 p eventin the switch 77 which breaksthe cir the-76ml. n t 75 burning out. v V a When all, the provisions necessary forpreventingunburnt 'gas escapes'have been taken,the device B is'Set again inoperative positionlby unscrewing the screw e as to cause the pin 71 to come out from the cavity so thatthe plunger 67 may be again moved downwardly:

V to its startingposition; When'the cap 791m also been unscrewed, the plunger 67 and the switch 77 are set back in operative position and the device is again ready for operation. The operation of setting back the locking device B is not made automatic in order to compel the user to call a person skilled in the art for taking the required precautions.

By way of example only, now there are given some modifications in the hereinbefcre described embodiment. Thus, the number and the kind of the bimetallic elements may be varied for changing the interval between two operations of taking samples of air, or for the same purpose the number and the kind of the flywheel lamps 36 may be varied as Well as other alarm and locking devices may be inserted in the alarm circuit, and so forth.

Thus, e.g. for avoiding gas escapes in various rooms or places not directly controlled by the apparatus, air inlets may be provided, formed by conduits departing from the Venturi tube 1 and provided with entrance openings and suction fans which operate in time with fan 2 of the main device.

Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity enabling others to reproduce the invention, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example and that numerous modifications and changes in the details and in the various devices may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims which are made a part hereof.

What we claim is:

1. In a self operating safety device for testing for the presence of combustible gas for use in conjunction with a gas supply line having an electrically operated flow valve, a compression chamber having inlet and outlet ports, an expandable member comprising a portion of said chamber, electrically operated simultaneously actuated closure means associated with said ports, an electrically driven fan for filling said chamber with the atmosphere to be tested, electrical gas ignition means Within said chamber, first switch means sequentially activating said fan, closing said closure means and activating said ignition means, timing means operating said first switch means at pre-determined intervals, second switch means operably connected to said expandable member adapted to close the flow valve and render said first switch means inoperative upon an explosion occurring within said chamher.

2. In a self operating safety device as in claim 1 wherein said timing device includes a plurality of bimetal elements, a heater associated with each of said bi-metal elements and switch means sequentially operated by said elements for successively energizing said heaters.

3. In a self operating safety device as in claim 2 Wherein said bi-metal elements comprise first, second and third elements and third, fourth and fifth switches are operatively associated with said elements, respectively, where by movement of said first element operates said third switch to energize the heater of said second element, movement of said second element operates said fourth switch to energize the heater of said third element and movement of said third element operates said fifth switch to activate said first switch means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,977,481 Iones Oct. 16, 1934 2,170,056 Keinath et al Aug. 22, 1939 2,508,588 Waltman May 23, 1950 2,581,812 Page Ian. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,008 Great Britain 1910 693,565 Great Britain July 1, 1953 

1. IN A SELF OPERATING SAFETY DEVICE FOR TESTING FOR THE PRESENCE OF COMBUSTIBLE GAS FOR USE IN CONJUCTION WITH GAS SUPPLY LINE HAVING AN ELECTRICALLY OPERATED FLOW VALVE, A COMPRESSION CHAMBER HAVING INLET AND OUTLET PORTS, AN EXPANDABLE MEMBER COMPRISING A PORTION OF SAID CHAMBER, ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DIMULTANEOUSLY ACTUATED CLOSURE MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID PORTS, AN ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN FAN FOR FILLING SAID CHAMBER WITH THE ATMOSPHERE TO BE TESTED, ELECTRICAL GAS IGNITION MEANS WITHIN SAID CHAMBER, FIRST SWITCH MEANS SEQUENTIALLY ACTIVATING SAID FAN, CLOSING SAID CLOSURE MEANS AND ACTIVATING SAID IGNITION MEANS TIMING MEANS OPERATING SAID FIRST SWITCH MEANS AT PRE-DETERMINED INTERVALS, SECOND SWITCH MEANS OPERABLY CONNECTED TO SAID EXPANDABLE MEMBER ADAPTED 